Podcast Problems: XML Parsing Issues?

[wbmccarty]

I just set up MM 4.0 and imported my podcasts from an OPML file generated by iTunes. For some reason, the podcast URLs are not present in the podcast subscription entries. I opened the OPML file in a text editor and can verify the URLs are present. Presumably, the XML syntax generated by iTunes (version 10.5.1.42) gives MM a tummy ache, which MM declines to report and instead silently fails to completely assimilate. Thoughts?

To work around the problem in the case of my most important and volatile podcasts, I manually added podcast URLs to several of the podcast subscription entries. In almost all cases, attempting to update a podcast pops up an Error dialog box announcing "There was a problem with the following file(s)." In each case, I can successfully verify the URL by copying and pasting into a browser's address bar, which fetches the proper XML RSS feed. Most of the URLs I tried were obtained via the iTunes Copy Podcast URL menu item and so are presumed to be correct. Consistent with that notion, iTunes continues to fetch the related podcasts just fine. It seems to me that MM is getting a tummy ache from the XML syntax of the RSS feeds that iTunes eagerly devours. Thoughts?

[Lowlander]

Do they have an http prefix or itpc prefix. I think that MediaMonkey can only handle the standard http prefix and not the non-standard itpc prefix.

[wbmccarty]

Lowlander, thanks for the suggestion. However, all the podcasts in question have the ordinary http: protocol rather than itpc: or another protocol.

[Lowlander]

Can you post some of these Podcast URL's that fail for you?

[Guest]

I'm having the same problem having just upgraded to MM4. It's imported my podcasts but all are giving an 'Unknown protocol' message in the error list after an update attempt. Feeds are from the BBC, Feedburner, Timesonline, etc, e.g. feed://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/film/rss.xml

[Guest]

Actually, I've just fixed mine now. If I open the settings for the podcast, cut the url and then paste it back the podcasts will update fine. Very odd, but it works.

[wbmccarty]

Guest, my experience is similar with one qualification and one exception. I have dozens of podcasts, so manually entering the URLs would be quite tedious. More critically, as I mentioned, many/most/all of the podcasts fail to update.

Lowlander, I uninstalled MM4, installed MM3, imported the OPML file, and observed similar behavior with respect to blank URLs. However, in the case of MM3, manually entering the URLs enabled episodes to be fetched. This seems to me to demonstrate conclusively that the problem is not related to the URLs or to my network configuration or state.

Here are some sample URLs:

• http://aomin.org/podcast.xml
• http://feeds.feedburner.com/WhiteHorseInn
• http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbeliev ... oFeed.aspx

In the case of the White Horse Inn podcast, I found it necessary to decorate the URL by adding

Code: Select all

?form=rss

or something of that sort to the end of the URL (I forget exactly what and, having uninstalled MM4, I can't simply check but would have to repeat the whole series of trials). iTunes was able to use (or at least, reports in response to Copy Podcast URL) the undecorated URL, which refers to an HTML page, apparently somehow knowing how to find the related RSS feed. Decorating the URL circumvents an initial MM4 error but MM4 still cannot fetch episodes even using the decorated URL.

[Lowlander]

I checked http://aomin.org/podcast.xml in MediaMonkey 4 and it works.

You might want to open a support ticket for this and send the old MM3 database (use a filesharing like dropbox or mediafire).

[wbmccarty]

LowLander, mine was not a conversion from MM3; it was a fresh install of MM4. Would it helpful to send the MM4 database?

[Lowlander]

And you're saying http://aomin.org/podcast.xml fails on your clean install? It is working here.

[wbmccarty]

Sorry for the slow response. I've been down for a few days.

Yes, as you report, there's nothing wrong with the aomin.org URL or site or, apparently, with the other URLs that fail for me. That's why I raised the issue

OTOH, there may be some user error phenomena responsible, at least in part, for these anomalies. Having imported my podcast subscriptions from iTunes, I find two relevant items in the media tree: Podcast -> Subscriptions and Podcast -> Podcast Directories -> iTunes Subscribed Feeds. In my reports so far, I've been working with the entries under Podcast -> Subscriptions. These have had a high failure rate. But, sometimes, I have been able to enter and re-enter the URL several times and eventually persuade MM4 to begin updating the podcast. That intermittent behavior seems to me to pretty definitely point to a bug.

What's weirder, more recently I began playing with the entries under Podcast -> Podcast Directories -> iTunes Subscribed Feeds. Which I click "subscribe" for one of these items, I think MM4 has immediately begun updating the podcast in every case.

Have I been doing a bad thing by working with the entries under Podcast -> Subscriptions? How do these two parts of the media tree relate to one another?

[Lowlander]

Subscriptions are those Podcasts you're actually subscribed to in MediaMonkey. They will have update rules so make sure they're set to update.

Podcast Directories are just lists of Podcast feeds.

[wbmccarty]

It does seem to me, then, that I'm dealing with a bug. Whether the subscriptions are loaded by OPML import or by entering a URL, they're failure prone. But if I click Subscribe on the iTunes Podcast Directory entry, which was created by the OPML import, things go jolly dandy.

At least, I've figured out how to set up my podcasts without having to manually enter the URLs. Individually subscribing via the Directory entries wasn't fun but wasn't the worst thing ever.

Thanks for the useful feedback!

[droozilla]

Had the issue, the cut & paste thing worked for me as well.

[CanUdian]

Went through the upgrade process (from 3.xx) this morning and same problem as well.

So I've been opening each subscription and copy/paste the URL to get it to work again.